Flight
by SkyeMelodie
Summary: She fled her home for freedom. He fled his hometown because he couldn't resist stealing something from a rich family. Now, with their new status as fugitives, they have taken flight as companions in the unknown. Will it soar into something more? Oldrival.


**Hey everyone! :3 I finally decided that I should take a break from reading Oldrivalshipping fanfics and write my own. Here are a few details that are significant during the story:**

*****In this fanfic, arranged marriages are _common_ for girls whose parents want her to be married.

*****Everything takes place in _Kanto_. Leaf's house is in Pallet Town, but the story starts a bit westward from Viridian Forest.

*****Sadly, progress through the unknown isn't as fast as going through towns. However, Leaf must take this difficult path to avoid others.

*****Other animals and birds exist in this region. For example, Leaf uses geese as her food source. (Eating Pokemon is morally wrong, no?)

*****In this fanfic, Leaf's eyes are green. Believe it or not, that's gonna be important later on. I couldn't find the real color of her eyes, but oh well. Deal with it. xD

*****"-x-" means either time has passed or the setting has changed. There are occasionally special exceptions to this.

**Yep. I think that's it! Feel free to review or P.M. if you have any questions. Enjoy!(:**

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><p><strong>Flight<strong>

**-x- Chapter 1 -x-**

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><p><em>She gasped for air. Her lungs burned and her heart pounded rapidly, but she allowed herself to stop and look at the path she had traveled; the life she had left behind. Then, ignoring her faint nostalgia, she rushed into the unknown.<em>

-x-

Pain. It coursed through her body, familiar now. An unexpected burst of light startled her when she opened her eyes, causing her to flinch. The small movement produced a sharp crackle, which echoed throughout the entire forest. Her eyes snapped open, now oblivious to the bright sunlight, and she remembered where she was.

"Forest," She reminded herself, "I have to hunt, or else I will starve."

She stood up and kicked her makeshift bed of leaves, scattering them below the trees. Overhead, a flock of geese flew in a V formation. Hurriedly, she grabbed her handmade bow and prepared a few arrows. She aimed, her position changing to correspond with the flock's direction. She released four arrows, which knocked down three birds successfully. The remaining arrow drifted somewhere else, but she was satisfied.

_"I'm on my way to Fuchsia," _She murmured as she input the message on her Poketch. _"I thought it would be nice for us to hang out for a while. See you soon?"_

_"Sure. I miss you, Leaf." _The reply came only a few seconds later. She scrolled through the message eagerly. _"__So, what's up? For some reason, there's a cash reward for whoever can bring you back to Pallet Town. What have you been doing?"_

_"I guess I made my parents mad." _It _was _the truth, although it didn't provide a detailed explanation. She retrieved the birds while she waited for a reply.

_"Haha, that's funny." _She scowled as she imagined his laughing face. _"Well, you can hide here for a while, but then I'll have to turn you in. I could use a few extra hundred bucks."_

_"Please don't. It's...serious." _Her fingers slowed to a rhythmic tapping. _"I'm going to travel slowly, too. It would help, because it would give my family some time to cool off. You can expect me in about a month."_

_"What? Come on, Leaf. I was only kidding. I wouldn't turn you in. But I gotta go now. Travel fast, but be cautious." _

_"Okay__."_ She sighed and snapped the cover back on her Poketch. She was grateful that she had acquired a safe destination point, but she hadn't revealed anything to him. Her thoughts that lingered on the subject were all guilty, but they were better than the consequence. She plucked the feathers off of all three birds to reserve them for future arrows.

The truth was, she had literally run away from her comfortable life. The only reason why she had escaped was because her parents had suggested a forced marriage with either Drew or Ash. With her financial advantage, she knew that May and Misty wouldn't stand a chance. Her only solution at the time was to make a hasty escape out of the front door.

She honestly didn't want to leave her home or disappoint her parents. She just didn't approve of marrying Drew or Ash; she knew that May and Misty were dating them already. Her plan now was to seek Dylan, her childhood friend, in hopes that they would establish a relationship beyond friendship. With him, she would be able to please her parents _and_ be content with her life.

In a way, she was manipulating her relationship with Dylan. Guiltily, she shook her head, clearing away all of her unpleasant thoughts. She stuffed two of the plucked birds into a plastic bag before stashing them in her traveling bag. Then, she stood up to collect all the materials that she needed to start a fire. Afterwards, she would cook the bird until it appeared edible. Her only goal now was survival.

-x-

She had traveled a considerable distance from Pallet Town now. She wasn't sure of her whereabouts, but she predicted that she was close to Pewter City. The only disadvantage was that she would have to be excessively cautious now that she was gradually approaching Mt. Moon. Based on her previous hiking trips there, she knew that it was crowded with eager explorers, trainers, and hikers.

When he appeared, she was startled, but she knew that she wasn't completely surprised. She rummaged through her pocket and extracted a small knife, which she held out in front of her for protection.

He walked out from behind a tree and approached her. His attitude was laid back, but he eyed her with interest.

"Are you lost? Pewter City is over there," She said urgently as she pointed to the east. "The sun is about to set. You should leave."

"The city's not the best place for me. I would rather stay here." He replied coolly, dismissing her hostility. "What I'm more interested in is why someone as beautiful as you would be lurking in this sinister forest. If you're out here, you must be an outlaw."

"I could be an _adventurer_," She retorted, ignoring his remark about her beauty. He had an air of confidence, which slightly annoyed her.

"You have a knife," He pointed out, smirking. "But seriously. Who are you? An outlaw or an adventurer?"

He studied her intently, and she suddenly became aware of how attractive he was. She mentally warned herself, but she couldn't help but feel slightly secure. Somehow, she knew that he wouldn't harm her. Reluctantly, she lowered the knife and slipped it back into her pocket.

"I guess I'm a bit of both," She admitted. "I mean, I didn't do anything bad, but I still have a bounty on my head."

He raised his eyebrow, evidently curious. "So what happened?" He prompted. "What did you do?"

"My parents tried to force me into an arranged marriage, so I ran away," She explained. "Well, it's not the thought of getting married, it's just...the guys that were presented to me."

"You would rather prefer me, right?" He remarked smugly. "Were they _that_ bad?"

"They're actually not bad," She murmured. "My best friends are dating them. I escaped so I wouldn't have to interfere with their relationships. And now, my parents are offering a cash reward to anyone who can get me back. To prevent that, I'm escaping to Fuchsia City, on the other side of the region."

She looked at him expectantly. "It's your turn to explain why you're here."

"I...I actually stole something from a rich family," He admitted, lowering his gaze to the ground. "It was only one thing, but it was important enough to make me an outlaw."

There was an uncomfortable silence before he spoke again, "Hey, can I come with you?"

"Come with me?" She made no effort to hide her surprise. "To Fuchsia?"

"Yeah," He said quietly. "I promise I won't do anything. I think it would be safer for me on the other side as well. It wouldn't hurt to have some assistance, right? Please."

"It's going to be a difficult journey," She warned. "I'm going to remain in the unknown. I'll only occasionally go into a city if it's absolutely necessary."

"That's fine," He agreed, his arrogance returning as he muttered to himself, "She just doesn't want me to see other girls. I didn't know she was the jealous and possessive type."

"That's not impressing me," She said, rolling her eyes. "But still. Just in case I want to betray you, what's your name?"

"Gary Oak," He replied, sincerely. "And yours?"

"I don't want to tell you my name right now. Even if I told someone about you, you could remain elusive." She paused. "But for me, I'll be searched for throughout the entire western region."

He stared at her in disbelief. His eyes pierced hers, but suddenly, he shifted and smirked, as if he understood her intentions. "Fine. I'm going to give you a nickname sometime between now and when we arrive at Mt. Moon. But at Fuchsia City, I want your _real _name."

"Sure," She said, shrugging. "For now, we should prepare for the night. First, we should eat. I have a goose that I hunted earlier."

"I know how to start a fire," He offered. "I'll start it, and then I'll go get some firewood for the night."

She nodded as she retrieved the goose from her bag. Her attention was diverted, even as she tended to the fire and cooked the bird in his absence.

He hadn't identified her as his rival from ten years ago. She wasn't even sure if he even _recognized _her. For some reason, she didn't desire to restart their relationship as rivals. She had even decided to hide her real name until the journey ended. He was now her fugitive companion.

They were to protect each other and survive.

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><p><strong>Don't you just hate chapter endings like that? I apologize. This is the first chapter, so I couldn't establish a good cliffhanger. D:<strong>

**By the way, about the second goose...It was Leaf's lunch. She met Gary in the afternoon, so the third goose was their dinner.  
><strong>

**Anyways, I just want to make sure that you know that Dylan is my own character. I hope you were able to identify who was "he", since that was probably a bit confusing. Since Leaf knows Gary's name and you're aware that there's a character named Dylan, it will be better in the next chapter.**

**Oh! It doesn't hurt to use a map with this story. Simply search "Kanto Map" and look at the areas outside of the roads and towns if you want to get a general idea of the characters' progress. Right now, they should be southwest from Pewter City.**

**I don't know when I'm going to update again, since I'm pretty busy, but I'll try to upload something by next Saturday. There might be a delay, since I'm probably gonna use my entire weekend studying for Biology & Geometry exams...T_T**

**Review please?(:**

**~SkyeMelodie :3  
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